The Portal of Wonderland

Old Man Wu Chen shot a glance in the direction of a string of black spots that were drifting toward the depths of the sea. He then turned his hand, and put away his ancient sword. His gaze then shifted to the scar-faced man who was still absorbed in a vigorous tussle with the scholar-like Taoist priest and the beautiful Taoist nun.

The scar-faced man had seen everything that had happened a moment ago. So, he realized something when Old Man Wu Chen’s gaze swept over him. Consequently, he bellowed loudly, and started to recite an incantation in a whispering voice.

Boom!

A spurt of grey flame burst on the surface of his body, and set him on fire the next moment. However, the spiritual pressure that he was giving off at this moment was twice as formidable as it had been before.

He then issued a loud shout, and his body exuded a burst of magnificent grey light. The grey light then condensed into a massive grey blazing palm, and galloped toward the refined Taoist priest to grab his head. The Taoist priest stood not far in front of him.

The refined Taoist priest was alarmed by this. A bright radiance burst forth on the surface of his purple flying sword, and the sword dashed toward the grey blazing palm to cut it down.

However, his purple sword whirled around, and started spinning as soon as it bumped into the gigantic palm. Then, that purple sword was struck and sent flying… as if it had lost control of its master.

The gigantic grey palm advanced straight toward the refined Taoist priest’s head to push him down. The scar-faced man’s intention was to defeat the opposite party as soon as possible.

But then, a streak of white light suddenly burst out. It was the white seal!

The white seal flashed, and expanded until it reached the size of a lower millstone. After that, it fiercely pounded on the gigantic grey palm from above.

The gigantic grey palm exploded with a loud “Bang” sound. However, the momentum of the white seal didn’t reduce a bit. The white seal smashed into the scar-faced man’s body in a forceful manner.

The scar-faced man’s body burst open with a loud “Puff” sound… as if he were a rotten watermelon. And, his blood sprayed out everywhere like rain.

A mass of grey smoke gushed out on the skeleton-bird’s body with the demise of the scar-faced man. The bird integrated into the void, and disappeared without a trace.

“Master!”

The refined Taoist priest and the beautiful Taoist nun flew over.

“You two deal with these two ships. Come over after you’ve wrapped things here!” Old Man Wu Chen said. Then, he waved his hand, and recalled the white seal. After that, his silhouette turned into a streak of white light as he darted toward the place where Shi Mu and the others were.

A Heaven-ranked powerhouse could move faster in the sky than on the ground. Therefore, it took him only a moment to catch up with the ship No. 22. Shi Mu was on board this ship.

He lifted his hand with an expressionless face while he was on the way to his destination. The white seal emanated bright rays of lights above his head, expanded, and became a dozen times larger than before. Then, it pounded toward ship No. 22.

The grey-skirted woman’s complexion became deathly pale. But, she still stimulated the movement of her spirit tool — the thin red silk — to receive the white seal.

However, the red silk got crushed into countless pieces with a loud “Bang” sound as soon as it bumped into the white seal. It seemed as if an ant had tried to shake a tree. However, the momentum of the white seal remained unchanged.

A “Puff” sound was heard at this moment. The grey-skirted woman spurted out a mouthful of blood, and crashed to the ground in a dispirited manner.

On the ship…

Shi Mu’s complexion drastically changed. He placed his hand on the ship’s railing, and a burst of green radiance flashed on his skin. Simultaneously, several green scales also appeared on his skin.

Then, his body moved as if he wanted to plunge into the sea.

But then, his complexion changed as he looked into the air.

A grey light flashed in the sky over the ship, and a petite figure emerged out of thin air.

This person’s whole body was covered with a suit of white armor, and its face was hidden behind a mask. Therefore, neither its face nor its body was visible.

The petite silhouette held a short black stick in its right hand.

Shi Mu’s facial expression profoundly changed. The other people didn’t know this person, but he clearly knew who it was. This white silhouette was none other than Yan Luo.

The imposing spiritual aura Yan Luo was exuding at the moment amazed him. It seemed that Yan Luo had made a tremendous progress once again.

Yan Luo raised its head, and gazed at the falling white seal. Then, the short stick in its hand exuded a stream of black light that shot up into the sky.

A hundreds of feet thick black stick shadow emerged in the air the next moment, and swept across the sky in a horizontal direction.

Whizz!

The mighty stick shadow flashed towards the white seal in the sky to meet it.

Old Man Wu Chen was dumbfounded for a moment. But then, his hands moved as he cast a magic spell. The white seal gleamed even brighter as a result. Moreover, numerous magic characters emerged in the white light, and the seal’s strength got boosted-up.

Bang!

A loud earth-shaking sound rang out!

Old Man Wu Chen’s body received a mighty shock, and his white seal was sent flying by the impact.

As for the white silhouette that was in the air… it crashed into the sea at an extremely fast speed with a loud ‘plop’ sound.

Over six-hundred disciples that were on board the three ships in the vicinity witnessed this scene along with the grey-skirted young woman, and a look of disbelief appeared on their faces.

They recalled that moment of death which they had experienced moments ago, and it all felt like a dream to them!

How could that person possess such an incredible strength that they were able to block Old Man Wu Chen’s strike?!

“It’s not good, Yan Luo!”

An overwhelming feeling of anxiousness emerged in Shi Mu’s heart when he saw this scene.

But, Shi Mu’s facial expression loosened a bit as he used his spirit sense and realized that Yan Luo hadn’t sustained severe injuries. Moreover, its aura was also fairly stable.

Old Man Wu Chen stabilized his body. A furious look emerged on his face.

He had never suffered such an insulting loss as he possessed an astonishing level of strength.

Suddenly, a spurt of black light appeared in the void behind his head.

Then, a withered palm stretched out from inside the light, and pounced toward Old Man Wu Chen like a bolt of lightning to grasp his head.

Old Man Wu Chen was startled by this. He immediately released a large amount of white light from his body. The white light condensed into a light-shield, and stood before the withered palm to block its way. Simultaneously, Wu Chen moved aside to dodge the attack.

Bang!

The light-shield shattered into pieces the next moment. However, Old Man Wu Chen didn’t fail to seize this opportunity. His stature flashed and re-appeared almost hundred feet away from his previous place.

“Who’s there?” Old Man Wu Chen turned around, and asked in a sinking voice.

“Wu Chen, we haven’t seen each other in a hundred years. Can it be that you have erased this old man from your memories over this period of time?” A person’s silhouette slowly appeared amid the black light. His face looked pale and withered, and his hair was dry and scarce. In fact, he looked like a deceased man.

“So, it’s you. I didn’t think you would still be alive!” Old Man Wu Chen was a bit surprised.

“I would like to thank you for killing that evil spirit in those days. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to break through this rank until my death.” The withered old man stood in the void, and was looking at Wu Chen intently.

“Heaven-rank!” Wu Chen’s pupils shrank.

A non-committal look peeped through the shriveled old man’s smile. Then, his clothes seemingly fluttered of their own accord, and a mighty spiritual pressure proliferated in all directions.

Shi Mu looked at those people in midair from the ship, and remained silent. He had just sensed Yan Luo’s strong desire to break through the sea. But then, it had abruptly returned to the Dead Spirit World for no apparent reason.

Old Man Wu Chen’s complexion sank. The massive spiritual pressure that this withered old man had released had made him realize that the withered old man had undoubtedly reached the Heaven-rank.

That petite white silhouette from before had exuded a kind of unique aura that was limited to the Dead Spirit creatures. So, it was needless to say that that dead spirit creature had been summoned by this withered old man.

Wu Chen was unable to sense the presence of that Dead Spirit creature at this time. But, he was sure that it had gone into hiding nearby. And so, it could not be taken lightly.

“This Pang Yu is pleased to meet the Left Wing Minister!”

The grey-skirted woman was on one of the ships. She struggled to her feet, and bowed to the withered old man with deep veneration. Also, a hint of ecstasy had bloomed on her face.

“Many thanks for rescuing us, Left Wing Minister!”

The other people on the three ships looked at each other in blank dismay. It was apparent that they didn’t recognize this old man. But, they still bowed to the withered old man when they saw that the grey-skirted woman had greeted him in such a respectful manner.

They also thought that the white figure from before must’ve been under the control of this old man. Otherwise, how could it have been able to resist Old Man Wu Chen’s strike?

In midair… A person’s silhouette came over from afar like an electric current. Then, a man came into appearance. It was Liu An!

“Master’s brother,” Liu An’s face gleamed with a hint of excitement as his eyes fell on the withered old man.

“Little An, it’s good to be back,” the withered old man said to Liu An.

“Master, you finally got out of the isolation practice! Let’s team up, and kill this traitor Wu Chen to avenge our Senior Master!” Liu An’s eye turned to look at Elder Taoist Wu Chen as he said.

The refined Taoist priest and the Taoist nun also flew over. They stopped behind Old Man Wu Chen. Then, they clasped their hands and said in a respectful manner, “Reporting to Master, there were over five-hundred evil disciples of the Dark Moon Cult on those three ships. All of them have received their punishment!”

“Good!” Old Man Wu Chen nodded.

Liu An’s eyes fumed with fury as he heard these words. A splendid black light burst forth from his body and he made a gesture… as if he was all-set to pounce on the enemy.

But then, the old man extended his haggard arm in front of Liu An. He then said while blocking Liu An’s way, “You’d better take them away quickly. I’ll take care of the people here.”

“None of you can think of running away from here today! The old man has spent a great deal of time to get rid of you two,” Old Man Wu Chen waved his hand as he spoke, and the white seal flew back on top of his head. Then, it started to spin even faster than before. Simultaneously, a white electric arc gradually appeared above the seal while issuing a crackling sound.

Buzz!

The green ancient sword appeared in Old Man Wu Chen’s hand once again with a flash of green light.

The ancient sword then exuded an incomparably pure dark-green sword Qi with a ‘Chi Chi’ sound.

Liu An’s facial expression changed. Then, a blood-red light flashed in his hands as he took out the Heavenly Ghost Banner. But, the blood-red radiance it was emanating looked fairly dim this time.

“Hehe, traitor Wu Chen… you should know that the disciples of my Cult are never known for their own strength. Do you know why I showed up here alone?” the old man said with a faint smile.

Old Man Wu Chen was struck dumb as these words fell in his ears.

A bright white light gleamed on the withered old man’s body the next moment. Then, the light flashed and transformed into a white ball of light. It was followed by a hurried sound that started to spread from the light ball.

Old Man Wu Chen’s face darkened as he heard this sound. He cast a profound look at the withered old man, and a mass of white light gushed out of his body. Then, he swept-up the refined Taoist priest and Taoist nun, and flew away toward the Gloomy Corpse Mountains like a streak of white light.

Liu An wanted to stop them, but it was already too late. In fact, neither the withered old man nor Liu An pursued them. The old man simply gazed at them as they drifted far away.

“Master, why didn’t you stop him?” Liu An looked at the old man in a somewhat confused manner.

The old man’s brows slightly wrinkled, and he continued to gaze at the afterglow of Wu Chen’s escaping light. But, he did not speak anything.

Liu An’s face revealed a trace of puzzled look, and he opened his mouth to ask something again.

But then, the old man’s body suddenly shook, and the barely enough red glow on his face started to fade at an extremely fast speed. Then, he tumbled down from midair.

Liu An’s facial expression changed, and he quickly held out his hand to catch the old man.

“Master, what happened to you?” Liu An exclaimed.

Everyone on the ships was also taken aback.

Liu An landed on the ship while holding the old man in his hands.

“Set sail and leave here at once… take advantage of this time when Wu Chen is not around…” the old man said.

The three huge boats set sail again. But, they didn’t move straight this time. They changed their sailing direction, and soon disappeared into the vast sea.

The people on that particular ship gathered in the aft-most part of the ship in an orderly manner, but none of them spoke anything.

Shi Mu stood nearby by the edge of the ship, and was looking toward the bow.

Liu An was on the bow of the ship. He activated a black enchantment, and shrouded the whole body of the withered old man. The grey-skirted woman also stood nearby.

Then, a wisp of black Qi passed through the enchantment, and integrated into the old man’s body.

However, the old man’s complexion didn’t improve. Instead, it became increasingly dull and withered. His condition was no better than that of a deceased person if it weren’t for the eyeballs that kept rotating once in a while.

“It’s useless… I have used a forbidden technique to promote my strength to the Heaven-rank forcefully. In addition, I have also used the last piece of Star Stone that I had kept hidden for a while. I had used that stone to open the passageway to the Dead Spirit World, and had summoned the White Tiger Ghost King… So, most of my life force has already been exhausted. But, it was worth saving you…” the old man said in a very weak voice.

The grey-skirted woman’s eyes glistened with teardrops when she heard his words. But, Liu An maintained a calm and composed expression on his face. He didn’t speak anything. Instead, he exerted his full strength to operate the magic spell.

“Little An, you don’t have to waste your energy here… there will be numerous perils and difficulties on your way to the Western Continent. Your strength will be needed at that time… the future of the Dark Moon Cult is in your hands now…” the old man’s voice became increasingly dull and weak with each passing second. His eyes slowly closed, and the last trace of energy dissipated from his body.

Boom!

His body spontaneously ignited a black flame. And then, he started burning in those blazing flames.

The grey-skirted woman’s complexion changed. She was about to move her hands to extinguish the flame. But, Liu An stretched out his hand to stop her.

“This is Karmic Flame of the Devil’s Bite. It’s the price for the forbidden spell that our Master had just displayed. So, it can’t be extinguished…” Liu An explained.

The corpse of the withered old man soon turned into a small pile of ashes in those flames. The flames had destroyed his spirit as well…

Liu An’s lips trembled a bit. He collected the cremated ashes in a careful manner, and put them into a small white altar.

Then, he moved a step back, and knelt down on the floor. He bowed down before the altar to pay homage to his senior.

The grey-skirted woman and other disciples on-board also followed him, and got on their knees before the altar in a respectful manner.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. He didn’t kneel down to pray. But, he still bowed toward the altar in respect.

Shi Mu didn’t agree with some of the principles of the Dark Moon Cult. However, everything that he had seen and heard over this period of time had made him reconsider his opinion about the three biggest forces of the Eastern Continent.